VANCOUVER — A payment processing company in Vancouver has been accused of being a "significant transnational criminal organization'' by the United States Treasury Department.

In a news release Thursday, the department alleges the PacNet Group has a 20-year history of laundering cash raised through what it calls "fraudulent solicitation schemes'' involving lotteries and mail fraud.

It alleges that PacNet has accepted and deposited millions of dollars in cash from U.S. victims, taken a cut and then returned the rest to "the scammers'' via wire transfers from a holding account, which the department says obscures the money trail.

In declaring PacNet a transnational criminal group, Treasury Department official John Smith says all PacNet property or interests subject to U.S. jurisdiction have been blocked, while the Department of Justice conducts searches and proceeds with criminal actions.

"PacNet has knowingly facilitated the fraudulent activities of its customers for many years, and (these) designations are aimed at shielding Americans ... from the large-scale, illicit money flows that are generated by these scams against vulnerable individuals,'' Smith said in the release.

As CBC News reported, the designation puts PacNet on a level with criminal organizations such as Mexico's Zetas and Japan's Yakuza.